Aimia announces renewal of its normal course issuer bid
MONTREAL, May 3, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ – Groupe Aeroplan Inc., doing
business as Aimia (“Aimia”) (TSX: AIM) announced today that it has
received approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange respecting the
renewal of its normal course issuer bid to purchase for cancellation up
to 17,179,599 of its common shares, or 10% of the public float of
171,795,996 common shares as at May 3, 2012, through the facilities of
the Toronto Stock Exchange and through alternative trading systems
(such as Alpha ATS), or by other means as may be permitted by the TSX,
such as prearranged crosses, exempt offers and block purchases, during
the period from May 16, 2012 to no later than May 15, 2013. Aimia may
also purchase common shares for cancellation by way of private
agreements under an issuer bid exemption order issued by a securities
regulatory authority. Purchases made on the open market through the
facilities of the TSX and alternative trading systems will be at the
prevailing market price at the time of acquisition. Purchases made by
way of private agreements under an issuer bid exemption order issued by
a securities regulatory authority will be at a discount to the
prevailing market price as provided in the exemption order. As at May
3, 2012 there were 172,093,933 common shares issued and outstanding.
The average daily trading volume on the Toronto Stock Exchange for the
past six months was 518,731 common shares. Under the regulations of the
Toronto Stock Exchange, a maximum daily repurchase of 25% of this
average may be made, representing 129,682 common shares. In addition,
Aimia may make, once per week, a block purchase (as such term is
defined in the TSX Company Manual) of common shares not directly or
indirectly owned by insiders of Aimia, in accordance with the
regulations of the Toronto Stock Exchange. The common shares purchased
pursuant to the normal course issuer bid will be cancelled.
The Board of Directors of Aimia has concluded that the repurchase of
common shares represents an appropriate use of funds to increase
shareholder value, as the underlying value of Aimia may not be
reflected in the market price of its common shares from time to time.
From May 16, 2011 to May 3, 2012, Aimia purchased an aggregate of
8,224,700 common shares pursuant to its current normal course issuer
bid, representing 46% of the full amount Aimia was authorized to
purchase, at a weighted average price of $12.15 per share.
About Aimia
Aimia is a global leader in loyalty management. Aimia’s unique
capabilities include proven expertise in delivering proprietary loyalty
services, launching and managing coalition loyalty programs, creating
value through loyalty analytics and driving innovation in the emerging
digital and mobile spaces. Aimia owns and operates Aeroplan, Canada’s
premier coalition loyalty program and Nectar, the United Kingdom’s
largest coalition loyalty program. In addition, Aimia has majority
equity positions in Air Miles Middle East and Nectar Italia as well as
a minority position in Club Premier, Mexico’s leading coalition loyalty
program and Cardlytics, a US-based private company operating in
merchant-funded transaction-driven marketing for electronic banking.
Aimia is a Canadian public company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange
(TSX: AIM) and has over 3,400 employees in more than 20 countries
around the world. For more information about Aimia, please visit www.aimia.com.
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/aimiainc.
Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Forward-looking statements are included in this news release. These
forward-looking statements are identified by the use of terms and
phrases such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “could”, “estimate”, “expect”,
“intend”, “may”, “plan”, “predict”, “project”, “will”, “would”, and
similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions. Such
statements may involve but are not limited to comments with respect to
strategies, expectations, planned operations or future actions.
Forward-looking statements, by their nature, are based on assumptions
and are subject to important risks and uncertainties. Any forecasts,
predictions or forward-looking statements cannot be relied upon due to,
among other things, changing external events and general uncertainties
of the business and its corporate structure. Results indicated in
forward-looking statements may differ materially from actual results
for a number of reasons, including without limitation, dependency on
top accumulation partners and clients, conflicts of interest, greater
than expected redemptions for rewards, regulatory matters, retail
market/economic conditions, industry competition, Air Canada liquidity
issues, Air Canada or travel industry disruptions, airline industry
changes and increased airline costs, supply and capacity costs,
unfunded future redemption costs, failure to safeguard databases and
consumer privacy, changes to coalition loyalty programs, seasonal
nature of the business, other factors and prior performance, foreign
operations, legal proceedings, reliance on key personnel, labour
relations, pension liability, technological disruptions and inability
to use third party software, failure to protect intellectual property
rights, interest rate and currency fluctuations, leverage and
restrictive covenants in current and future indebtedness, uncertainty
of dividend payments, managing growth, credit ratings, as well as the
other factors identified in this news release and
throughout Aimia’s public disclosure record on file with the Canadian
securities regulatory authorities.
The forward-looking statements contained herein
represent Aimia’s expectations as of May 3, 2012, and are subject to
change after such date. However, Aimia disclaims any intention or
obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether
as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as
required under applicable securities regulations.
Contact:
Media
JoAnne Hayes
416-352-3706
joanne.hayes@aimia.com
Analysts
Trish Moran
416-352-3728
trish.moran@aimia.com